A Digimon Ghost Story
by MattandSpikeforever
Summary: The Digidestined are trapped in a haunted mansion. Will they ever escape?


By Matt_and_Spike_forever, Matt's #1 fan!!  
  
Disclaimer, in the form of a poem:  
Roses are red, violets are blue,  
I don't own Digimon, so please don't sue! =)  
But mind you, anything that refers to Steff Shibasuki, Cheetahmon, and her digivolutions is mine!!!  
  
This fanfic takes place in season 1 after the Digidestined come back to the Digital World to defeat the Dark Masters. When they discovered Kari, the Digidestined also found Steff (he-he!) the ninth Digidestined. Just as a warning, I'm a HUGE Matt fan, so if I happen to portray Tai in a bad light, I'm sorry. It's not like I don't like Tai, but I LOVE my little Yama-chan!!! So just in case, this is a warning to any big Tai fans. This fanfic deserves a PG rating, because of scariness and some blood, but no bad language (also some romance--but absolutely no hentai). Anywho, hope you enjoy!  
  
"A Digimon Ghost Story"  
  
Chapter 1  
"When are we going to find somewhere to rest?! I'm tired!" Mimi whined as the Digidestined crossed a wide river, jumping from stone to stone.  
"We'll find somewhere soon," Joe soothed.  
"I don't want somewhere soon, I want somewhere now!!!"  
All the Digidestined groaned and sweatdropped.  
"Is she always like this?" Steff asked exasperatedly. Stephanie "Steff" Shibasuki was the ninth Digidestined. About as tall as Matt, she had brown hair with golden highlights; she wore the top and bangs in a shag, although she wore the ends purposefully messed up. She had light brown eyes, but they changed color depending on the light and her clothes. Her clothes--a red-and-orange t-shirt with a silver dragon on it and black jeans--made her eyes look a dark green. Steff was the Digidestined of Compassion and her Digimon was Cheetahmon.  
"Unfortunately, yes, Mimi's like this a lot," Sora moaned.  
The river got wide in an area; the shore was on the other side. Tai, who was ahead of them all, pointed and said, "Looks like we're going to have to jump." He crouched and lept. He landed on the bank, but just barely. Dusting himself off, Tai called back across the river, "C'mon you guys! Hurry it up!"  
"Easy for you to say," Sora growled. She lept across and landed with ease. "That wasn't so hard," she smiled. "Show-off," Tai grumbled.  
Steff jumped to the next rock. But it was slippery though and she started falling backwards. Just when she thought she was going to fall into the water, a pair of strong arms grabbed her around the waist. Steff looked up into the face of Yamato "Matt" Ishida.  
"Are you okay?" he asked in a concerned voice, despite the small smile he wore. "Yeah. Thanks, Matt," Steff replied, blushing a little. He helped her righten, and Steff noticed that his hands lingered on her waist. Matt must have noticed too because he abruptly pulled his hands back to his sides, blushing slightly. She smiled at him and continued on her way. Yeah, it was true that she liked Matt. She'd always liked rebels, and Matt was a prime example of one! And he was nice. And totally hot. And that hair!! His hair was soooo awesome!! And why was she thinking this now?! Oh, well.  
Steff stopped on the last rock and waved the others past her, waiting so she could help the ones who'd need it (Kari, T.K., Mimi, Joe). She then crossed the river herself. All of the Digimon were already waiting for their partners on the shore, including Steff's own Digimon, Cheetahmon.  
Cheetahmon was a cat-like Digimon; twice as big and sleeker than Gatomon, although she was only a rookie. She had golden fur covered in black spots. Her eyes were jet-black orbs in her angled face. The two things that kept Cheetahmon from looking like a true cheetah were her tail--which had a black barb like a scorpion's--and the fact that she had wings: eagle's wings coated in a golden fuzz. Long and sinewy, Cheetahmon loped over to Steff as the Digidestined and Digimon proceeded with walking again.  
"You could've let me fly you to the other side," Cheetahmon said moodily in her deep, purring voice as they both followed the others.  
"I didn't want you wasting any energy on me," Steff said, smiling. "Besides," she added in a quieter voice, "I tripped and 'my hero' saved me."  
Cheetahmon smiled a fanged smile. "Oh, you mean--" she started loudly.  
"Shhhhh! Don't say it out loud! You-know-who might hear you!!" Steff hissed.  
"Awwww! Isn't that sweet? When's the wedding?"  
"Shut up!" Steff moaned; she could feel her cheeks reddening.  
They walked and walked until they came to a huge, white mansion up on a hill. A small white picket fence surrounded the mansion; beautiful flower beds were everywhere. But by the looks of things, the place was deserted. Weeds choked up the wilted flowers and grass, and no lights were on, but the paint on the mansion was intact.  
"Maybe there's some food inside!" Mimi shouted hopefully.  
"Should we go in?" Kari asked.  
"I should think proceeding inside wouldn't be a difficulty. It is my belief that the former residents of this estate have departed," Izzy mused thoughtfully.  
"What'd he say??" Augumon asked.  
"He said that the owners are gone," Tentomon translated.  
"Oh. I knew that."  
"Well I think we should go right on in and make ourselves comfortable," Tai announced, unlatching the gate and heading for the door.  
"Isn't this breaking-and-entering?" Joe fretted. "What if we get caught? Hasn't anyone heard the story of Goldilocks?? I sure don't want to run into the three Monzaemon!"  
"Stop worrying, Joe," Tai snapped, waving him off. "Besides, what could happen?"  
"Don't tell me he just said that," Steff groaned.  
"He said it," Matt murmured, rolling his azure eyes.  
Steff gave Matt a sidelong look. "I told you not to tell me that."  
"I hate to say it, but I've got a bad feeling about this place. You're not going to catch me going in there." Matt folded his arms across his chest defiantly.  
"I feel the same way...but Tai's the leader. We're supposed to follow him."  
"I don't think Tai knows what he's doing half the time!"  
"Well...I haven't been on the team long enough to comment on that. But I think we should go in. We're probably just being paranoid. It's most likely perfectly safe. Come with us. Please, Matt?" Steff pleaded, giving him the big puppy-dog eyes routine.  
"Ohhhh....fine. But I'm just coming to protect you guys! I want you to know that, for the record, I was totally against going in."  
"Thanks, Matt!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Yes, come on in," the evil Digimon laughed. "The house is perfectly safe! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!"  
  
Chapter 2  
They all walked up to the door. Tai bravely reached out, gripped the doorknob, and twisted. The door opened with an eerie creak that reverberated through the house. Tai swallowed, a small glimpse of fear in his eyes, but then he puffed out his chest and walked through the door. Everyone followed Tai, looking around the house warily.  
Steff gasped as she walked through the door. For a split second, it felt like she had gone through a wall of electricity. But the sensation had been brief. Now all that remained was a slight tingling in the back of her head. She dismissed it, rationalizing that it was probably just her imagination.  
"This place is about as empty as Tai's head," Matt joked.  
"I heard that!" Tai roared.  
Cheetahmon stared around her, sniffing the air. "I don't like this place. I feel strange."  
Steff looked at her partner Digimon. "How do you feel strange?"  
"I--I don't know. I sense...a presence here. Something familiar."  
"You guys are just freaking yourselves out!" Tai scoffed. Gesturing around him, he continued, "It's just an old house! Nothing to be scared of."  
"Yeah, but whose house is this? You think of that?" Matt replied.  
Silence.  
"Who built this place? There aren't any other humans in the Digital World besides us, so then who lived here?"  
"Obviously no one lives here. This place is deserted. Sheesh, Matt, you're starting to let Steff's paranoia get to you," Tai grumbled.  
"Hey! I'm not--" Steff began angrily.  
"I agree with Steff," Matt interrupted. "There's something wrong here."  
Tai shot Matt an angry glare. "Sticking up for your--?!"  
"Guys!! Stop fighting!" Sora shouted, stepping in between Tai and Matt. " I agree with Matt and Steff, but I don't think it'd hurt to look around some. If, after that, you two still feel that way," Sora glanced at Steff and Matt, "we'll leave. Anyone have objections?"  
Everyone except Tai, Matt, and Steff shook their heads "no".  
"Will we really do that?" Matt inquired, looking at Tai.  
"I suppose so," Tai said begrudgingly, then added quickly, "but only after we've looked around."  
"Then we'll do it," Steff said happily.  
"Let's go see if there's any food here," Tai said.  
"I'll help you look, Tai," Mimi said eagerly.  
"I'll come too," Joe added, and the three and their Digimon walked off.  
"I wonder if there's an internet connection somewhere," Izzy pondered aloud. Tucking his pineapple laptop under his arm, he and Tentomon disappeared into a room.  
"Hey, Kari, let's go explore!" T.K. cried, running up a staircase, Patamon on his heels.  
"Sure!" she replied, running up the staircase with Gatomon right after her.  
"T.K.!! I don't--" Matt started to say.  
"It's okay, Matt, I'll follow them," Sora replied warmly. She and Biyomon left.  
Which left Steff, Cheetahmon, Matt, and Gabumon standing in the foyer.  
"So what do you want to do?" Steff asked cheerily.  
Matt looked at his shoes thoughtfully.  
"Are you okay, Matt?" Steff asked quietly, concerned.  
Matt looked into Steff's face. "Did you feel something when you walked in? Like...your hair prickling up on the back of your neck? Or was it just me?"  
"You felt it too?? Yeah, I felt it all right! I thought it was just my imagination or something. I don't think we're supposed to be here, if you ask me."  
"I think we should leave," Cheetahmon growled.  
"I second that motion," Gabumon said, holding up a paw.  
Suddenly, the front door slammed shut.  
The two humans and Digimon jumped. Gabumon raced over to the door, grabbed the knob, and turned it. Nothing. Gabumon wrenched the handle one way then another; his muscles were evident under his thick fur coat, showing that he was trying with all his might. No response from the door.  
"It's stuck, Matt! It won't open!" Gabumon cried in horror.  
"Maybe it will open if we all try," Steff suggested. Matt nodded to her and they all grabbed the doorknob. Even with all their strength combined, the door refused to budge. They all sighed and slid to the floor.  
"Now what?" Steff asked.  
"Maybe it will open if we use our crests," Matt recommended. "It's worth a try."  
Steff pulled out her tag and crest from under her shirt, as did Matt. Her crest had a symbol that looked like two five-petaled flowers overlapping each other with a swirl in the middle. They both pointed their crests at the door, hoping for any reaction at all. And they did get a reaction, although it wasn't the one they wanted.  
The crests started glowing, but it was an ebony-black glow. The crests flashed--like a lightbulb exploding--but the light was black. Steff and Matt shouted as searing pain shot through them both and they were thrown away from the door. Their Digimon were instantly at their sides.  
"Steff!! Are you okay?! Steff, answer me!!" Cheetahmon pleaded.  
"Matt!! Wake up, please! Matt!!" Gabumon shouted, shaking him.  
Steff coughed and squinted up at Cheetahmon. "Cheetahmon? Where are the others? Where's Matt?"  
"I'm here," Matt replied, sitting up gingerly. "Are you okay, Steff?"  
"I think so. Man, that hurt!!" Steff whispered. Matt stood and walked over to her, helping her into a sitting position.  
"Can you stand?" he asked.  
"Yeah, sure," Steff said, struggling to get up from the floor. Matt grabbed both of her hands in his and pulled her up. They were face-to-face for a long moment before Matt cleared his throat, letting his hands drop to his sides.  
"Where are the others?" Steff asked again.  
"I'm not sure. Who knows what's happened to them! And...oh-no!! T.K.!!!!" Matt cried, turning to the staircase.  
The only problem was now there was no staircase.  
It was the same foyer, only the flight of stairs was gone; it was now just a solid wall.  
"T.K.!!" Matt shouted, bolting over to the wall. He ran his gloved hands across it, muttering an incessant "no, no, no" to himself. When he couldn't find any trace of where the stairs were, he started pounding on the wall in fury, in disbelief, in helplessness, shouting for his little brother.  
Steff knew that Matt loved his little brother more than anything and felt such pity for him. She herself had a younger brother, and if anything ever happened to him...  
She walked over to Matt, who had finally stopped banging on the wall and instead was leaning against it, and lay a hand on his arm. "It's going to be okay, Matt. T.K. wasn't alone, Kari and Sora were with him. They'll be fine; T.K.'ll be fine."  
Matt looked at her, eyes shining with unshed tears. "You...think so?" he asked huskily.  
Steff smiled at him. "I know so. Don't worry. Let's go see if we can find any of the others. Okay?"  
Matt smiled grimly and nodded.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Tai, Mimi, Joe, and their Digimon found the kitchen after searching several rooms. It was a large kitchen with a refrigerator, sink, table and chairs, and a pantry.  
"I don't know why Matt and Steff are acting so funny. It's an old house. Oooh, I'm so scaaared!" Tai laughed. "Watch out for the broom closet, there's a killer mop in there!!"  
"I don't know, I kinda agree with them. This place is giving me the creeps!" Joe said quietly.  
"Ohhh, not you too, Joe!! I would expect this of that new girl, Steff. I think she's really cute, but she seems to have a thing for Matt. What does Matt have that I don't?! I'm cuter than Matt, more athletic, more...everything!"  
"Sounds like you're jealous, Tai!!" Mimi teased.  
"Me?! Me?! Jealous of Matt!?!? I don't think so! Why would I be jealous of Matt? I don't want to discuss this further, so let's just look for some food, all right?"  
Tai opened up the fridge and gasped. The fridge was crammed full of delicious looking food! Tai and Augumon gaped at the spread. "Jackpot!" Tai cried. Humming a little tune, Tai found a plate and helped himself to generous portions of everything. Sitting down at a table, Tai and Augumon were ready to dig in.  
"Don't you find this the least bit disconcerting? If there's food in the fridge, wouldn't that mean that someone's here?!" Joe pointed out.  
"You worry too much, Joe. That's not good for your health. I would think a future doctor would know that," Tai snapped, picking up a corndog. "Help yourself. We'll get the others later." Tai took a big bite out of the corndog. It was good, but it had slaw on it. Slaw? Corndogs aren't supposed to have slaw. Tai looked at the corndog in his hand.  
The inside was covered in maggots.  
Tai sweatdropped and spat out the piece in his mouth, throwing the remaining part across the room. He spat repeatedly, trying to clean out his mouth. He swallowed hard to keep himself from puking.  
Mimi had her hands across her mouth, and Joe looked green. The three Digimon stared at him, all of them looking sickly.  
Tai glanced down at his plate. Everything on it was covered in maggots. He knocked the plate off the table and stumbled backwards, away from the plate. He stared at the still-open fridge; there was nothing in it. Looking back at the floor, the spilled food was gone. But the plate was still sitting there.  
  
Chapter 3  
"Sora, look at this!" T.K. shouted.  
Sora entered into a very expansive--and expensive looking--bedroom. A king-sized bed took up most of the interior in the room; Patamon and Gatomon were bouncing on the bed. The windows were huge, revealing tree tops outside. Sora spotted what T.K. and Kari were looking at. The posters of the bed had intricate dragons carved into them.  
"Isn't it pretty?" the young boy asked.  
"That's very pretty, T.K., but I think we should get back to the others now. We've been gone a while," Sora said as Patamon and Gatomon stopped bouncing.  
"Okay, Sora," T.K. replied sadly. "Race you, Kari!" he cried and ran into the hall with Patamon.  
"I'm going to beat you!" Kari shouted. "Go, Kari!" Gatomon cried.  
"I don't think--ummm, Sora??"  
Sora and Biyomon ran toward T.K.'s voice. She stumbled into the hall. T.K., Kari, and the two Digimon looked around in bafflement, and in T.K.'s case, panic. The hall they were in wasn't the one they had come through. This hall looked totally different! The staircase had been straight in front of them, but now it ended in a door. Instead of the hall being straight, it now curved around to the left in front and behind them.  
"Where are we?" Kari asked, confusement filling her voice.  
"I wish I knew, Kari," Sora said weakly.  
"Let's go through that door," Patamon said, pointing to the new door.  
"I don't think that's a good idea," Gatomon mumbled. "Maybe if we go back in the bedroom, the hall will be back to normal."  
"Good plan, Gatomon," Sora replied. They all went back into the room, waited a few minutes, then came out. No good; the hall stayed in the newly arranged fashion.  
"What do we do now?" Biyomon inquired.  
A deep growling started in the bedroom. Suddenly, four brown dragons with burning red eyes flew out of the bedroom. The dragons on the posters had come to life!  
"We RUN!!!" Sora screamed. They all ran around the corner. They ran down the new hall and barreled around another corner. But to their surprise, they came out right behind the dragons.  
"Other way!" Sora yelled. They bolted around the corner again. This time, they appeared in front of the dragons. "There's only one hallway! We're stuck!"  
"Time to digivolve, Sora!" Biyomon exclaimed.  
"Go for it!"  
Biyomon digivolve to....Birdramon!  
"Your turn, Patamon!"  
"I'm ready, T.K.!"  
Patamon digivolve to....Angemon!  
"Let's do it, Gatomon!"  
"Right!"  
Gatomon digivolve to....Angewomon!  
"Celestial Arrow!!" Angewomon cried. Her attack vaporized one of the dragons.  
"Hand of Fate!!" Angemon totaled another dragon.  
"Meteor Wing!!" Birdramon shot flaming rocks and destroyed the final two dragons. All the Digimon de-digivolved back to their rookie forms (except Gatomon).  
"Since that's been taken care of, what do we do now?" Patamon asked.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Prodigious! I finally found an internet jack!" Izzy exclaimed in delight. He and Tentomon had been searching room after room for a long time. At last they found an available phone line in an old-fashioned study, complete with built-in desk.  
Izzy set up his computer and turned it on.  
"Maybe now I can decipher our location," he said to himself. He pulled up maps of the Digital World that he and Gennai had made. Searching thoroughly, he scanned through each map. He finally came to one that caught his attention.  
Hmmm, now that was strange. They seemed to be in an area they had already explored. But that couldn't be right! If they had been to this region before, they would have known about this place, would have seen it before now.  
"This is quite enigmatic, Tentomon."  
"What is, Izzy?"  
"According to my calculations, we're in Jade Domain."  
"But we've already been there! We were there shortly before we left to go to your world."  
"Exactly. So how come we didn't know about this place sooner?? I'm beginning to concur with Matt and Steff. Something is very wrong here!"  
Just then, a little ping sounded off from his computer. A picture of a letter appeared at the bottom of his screen.  
"Huh? Someone sent me an email? I wonder who it's from. Izzy clicked on the icon and a very brief message emerged. Its contents were enough to scare Izzy and Tentomon as he read the email aloud.  
Don't attempt to leave my house, Digidestined. Striving to escape is futile. Make yourselves at home, you'll be here for a very, very long time. Your generous host  
A drop of sweat trickled down the side of Izzy's face as he stared dumbfounded at the computer monitor. "W-Who...How did this--this person get my email address?! This is inconceivable!"  
"We should find the others, and fast!"  
"I'm with you!" Izzy agreed, unplugging his computer and scooping it into his backpack. "But where do we start?"  
"Ummm, I was hoping you would know that."  
"Let's review the hallway we came from."  
Izzy and Tentomon ran out into the hall. Selecting a door, they dashed for it; but before they could reach it, the door slammed shut by itself. Izzy looked around frantically, picking another door. The door shut with a loud bang before they could even get a foot closer. As a matter of fact, all the doors in the hallway had closed!  
"How is this possible?!" Izzy cried, trying to open a door; when it wouldn't open, we went to the next door. "It is physically impossible for this phenomena to occur! Tentomon, help me out, pal! ...Tentomon? Tentomon??"  
Izzy looked up from his attempt to pry the doors open. His Digimon partner was gone! "Tentomon!! Where are you?? Tentomon!!!"  
Suddenly, the floor dropped away from under Izzy's feet. Izzy yelled and jumped for a door, grabbing onto a doorknob. Panting, he struggled to hold on. The door cracked loudly. He was pulling the doorknob off! One-handed, Izzy tried to find somewhere else to grab onto. There was nowhere. With another large crack, the doorknob came off in his hand. Then he was falling, falling through endless black.  
"Tentomon!!!!" he screamed.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Did Tai and the others go this way?" Steff asked.  
"Cheetahmon, Gabumon, see if you can sniff them out," Matt ordered.  
"Excuse me, but just because Gabumon is a dog--in the literal sense--doesn't mean that I can sniff out stuff like him!" Cheetahmon protested.  
"Cheetahmon, please? Do what Matt says," Steff implored.  
"Fine, but I want him to know that I'm a cat, not a dog," Cheetahmon replied sulkily, then started smelling the air.  
"Kind of moody, that one is," Matt whispered to Steff.  
"No, just easily offended. Like her mistress," Steff replied, smiling.  
"Just ignore Tai. He's been known to be insensitive. A lot."  
Steff stared at Matt. He had known that she had been talking about Tai. He's observant; either that or a good people-reader. Or maybe he's just receptive to others' feelings--which was more than she could say for Tai.  
"And for what it's worth, I'm glad you joined up with us," Matt continued, giving her a lop-sided grin that made her heart go all fluttery.  
Steff blushed, then said, "Well, it's not like I helped you guys defeat VenomMyotismon or anything; I found my digivice right after you destroyed him, then got accidentally dragged along with you when you guys came back here. Once I was acquainted with all of you, I found Cheetahmon and my tag and crest. So, how long have I known you guys now?"  
"About two weeks: actually, three tomorrow."  
Steff smiled. "You've been keeping track?"  
Matt sweatdropped. "Uh, so why did you want to know?"  
"It hasn't seemed that long. But on the flip side, I feel like I've been doing this forever. Does that seem weird to you?"  
"Not at all. The wilderness will do that to you, especially if the landscapes are almost all the same. Seems like you're just going in circles, although sometimes you are!" Matt laughed, then turned serious. "But I would never trade this experience--the Digital World, the Digimon--for anything."  
Before Steff could answer, a hand pounced out through the wall and grabbed her left arm. "Help!!" Steff screamed, the hand dragging her toward the wall despite her struggling. Matt jumped and seized her other arm.  
"Stinging Tail!!" Cheetahmon cried, whipping her tail around and stinging the hand. It didn't affect it; the hand still held Steff's arm in its cold, slimy grasp. Even though Matt and Steff fought it, the hand was winning, starting to drag her inside the wall. "Matt!!!!" Steff shouted.  
"No!! Let her go!! You can't have her!! Steff!!" Matt bellowed, pulling with all his might. Gabumon had apparently started helping Matt, pulling him from behind.  
"I've gotta help Steff!" Cheetahmon thought aloud. "But how?!"  
"Cheetahmon!! Help me!" Steff yelled.  
"I'm coming, Steff!" Cheetahmon roared, leaping forward. As she did so, she started glowing bright gold. "What the--?!" Steff cried, the digivice on her hip vibrating and also glowing.  
Cheetahmon digivolve to....  
  
Chapter 4  
....Dynamomon!!  
"Dynamomon?! She digivolved!" Steff yelled happily. It's not like this was Cheetahmon's first time digivolving, but Steff was happy nontheless.  
Dynamomon looked like a female samurai warrior. She was the size of Angemon, also with a set of silver angel wings. The armor she wore was silver and the cloth under it was black. Her face was hidden under a silver helmet. A brilliantly bright silver katana with a blood-red handle was gripped tightly in her hand.  
"Dynamo Sword!!" Dynamomon shouted; her sword pulsed with electricity and she brought it down on the hand in the wall. The hand glowed for a second, then disappeared. The others weren't expecting that. Matt kept tugging, this time with nothing fighting them. He, Steff, and Gabumon fell backwards in a tumbled heap.  
""Give us some warning next time," Gabumon growled to Dynamomon, rubbing his head.  
Dynamomon de-digivolved back to Cheetahmon. "I'll try to remember that."  
"Oh, Cheetahmon, you saved me!" Steff cried, running over to her Digimon, wrapping her arms around Cheetahmon's neck, giving her a huge hug.  
Steff stood and walked over to Matt, who hurriedly got to his feet, dusting himself off. "Thank you so much for trying to help me, Matt."  
Matt looked at her, apparently shocked, then stared at his shoes, cheeks flushing. "Well, it's not like I'd let you go that easily. I c--I would do the same for everyone."  
"Oh. O--Of course you would! Well...thanks again."  
Matt cleared his throat. "Whatever," he replied quietly, shrugging. "We'd better start looking for the others again."  
"Yeah, we'd better."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"What the heck is going on?!" Tai yelled, staring from the strangely empty plate to the strangely empty refrigerator. "Where'd the food go?! You guys saw it, didn't you??"  
"Yeah, we saw it all right, Tai!" Augumon replied faintly.  
"I need a drink," Mimi said quietly, grabbing a glass and putting it under the faucet. With a good bit of force, she managed to turn it on. Nothing happened. At first. Finally, water came out of the tap. Mimi sighed and brought the cup to her lips.  
And screamed, dropping the glass.  
The glass shattered, but instead of water spilling everywhere, a red liquid went all over the place. The three humans and the three Digimon knew what it was.  
Blood.  
"That's it!! I'm outta here!" Joe said resolutely, holding his hands in the air as he walked toward the door. "First maggots in the food, then there's no food, now blood coming out of the spickets!! This house is officially messed up!"  
"Wait for me, Joe!" Mimi shrieked, running after him, Palmon and Gomamon running after her.  
"Hey, guys, don't leave us alone!" Augumon cried, running after his comrades. "Augumon, don't leave me alone!" Tai called after his friend, sprinting for the door.  
"I thought you didn't believe there was anything wrong with this house, Tai?!" Joe said angrily as they all ran down a hall toward the door that led to the foyer.  
"I admit I was a skeptic at first, but now I believe!" Tai confessed. Then he shouted out into the house, "You hear me?! I believe now!!"  
Tai turned his attention back to the door. Wait a second! They should be at that door by now; they were only about seven feet away from it. But that had been three minutes ago.  
"Does anyone else get the feeling we're not going anywhere?" Tai asked suspiciously. Mimi and Joe looked from Tai to the door; they stared at it, then looked back at Tai.  
"You're right! We aren't moving!" Joe exclaimed.  
"But we are moving! So how come we can't get to the door??" Mimi asked shrilly.  
"Stop running!!!" Tai shouted, and they all halted.  
Tai looked behind them. He could still see the bend in the hall that led back to the kitchen. He gawked at the door, which sat so tantalizingly close but was yet so far away. It hadn't moved back any. Although they were moving and the door always seemed to stay just far enough to be out of reach.  
"This is really bizarre," Joe mumbled.  
"Are we stuck?!" Mimi squeaked, on the verge of tears. Palmon tried to comfort her, but it wasn't working.  
"Maybe we should go back," Gomamon suggested.  
"No way! I'm not going back into that freaky kitchen!" Joe replied, adamant.  
"So what do you think we should do then, Tai?" Augumon inquired.  
Tai thought hard. They had two options. One, they could continue to try to go down the hallway. Or two, they could go back to the kitchen and look for another way out of there. But they had been trying option one for a while now, to no avail. Option two was the only available option really.  
"We go back to the kitchen and look for an alternate hall that'll lead us back to the foyer and outta here."  
"Didn't you hear me?! I'm not going back in there!" Joe reiterated.  
Without warning, the door they had been running to opened. The Digidestined and Digimon sweatdropped, turned slowly, and gaped at the door. There was nothing, no one, behind it. Then, gradually, mist started creeping through the door. Swirling, twisting along the floor like snakes, it headed straight for the Digidestined.  
"Okay, I'm ready to go back to the kitchen now," Joe said weakly.  
They all turned and ran.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Cold.  
It was cold.  
He could tell he was in the dark. The suffocating dark. Izzy slowly opened his eyes and gazed around him. Yes, he had been correct. It was pitch black, wherever he was. No, actually, it wasn't completely dark. There were some torches on the walls, offering a minute bit of light.  
What had happened? Oh, yes. He had fallen.   
Through the floor.  
He sat up carefully, feeling himself for anything broken. Although his head felt a little tender, he seemed to be fine. He reached back to his backpack and pulled out his computer. It, like him, was intact.  
Izzy looked around him again. Now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness some, he could see that he was in some sort of dungeon, complete with those torches and some pillars stretching out of the light. Where was Tentomon?!  
"Tentomon?" Izzy called, his voice coming out harsh and whispery.  
Rocks clattering to his left.  
Izzy jerked his head toward the noise. He squinted into the gloom. "Hello?" Izzy whispered sharply.  
Nothing.  
"Hello?" Izzy said louder. "Tai? Mimi? Matt? Somebody? Anybody??"  
No response.  
He suddenly wasn't so cold anymore. He was sweating under his shirt collar. He could feel his pulse pounding against his temple; his chest felt tight. He realized he was gasping for breath, hyperventilating. He drew a deep breath, held it, exhaled. There was no need to panic.  
He was only trapped in an abandoned dungeon with someone--something--that he didn't have a clue about.  
Just then something tapped him on the shoulder.  
Izzy forgot all logical reason and freaked out. He shouted and scrambled away from that area as fast as he could. Turning around, he spied what it was.  
"Tentomon!!"  
Izzy had never been so happy to see the little mechanoid insect Digimon in all his life! He ran over and hugged Tentomon hard.  
"Never do that to me again; you almost threw me into cardiac arrest!"  
"I promise, Izzy, so now can you let go of me, I can't breathe!"  
"Oh, sorry, Tentomon. I'm just elated to see you!"  
"You mean happy?"  
Izzy blushed a little. "Correct. How did you come to be here?"  
"I was grabbed by something. I didn't even have enough time to call for help before I was dragged down here. I've been wandering around here for some time now. I can't find a way out. There aren't any windows and I can't find a door anywhere."  
"Well, I'm glad you managed to have a small duration of time to do some reconnaissance work in. We can devise our next best course of action now."  
"Which is?"  
"Wait for the others to find and rescue us."  
  
Chapter 5  
"....We've looked in every door except this one. This has got to be the way out," Sora said wearily.  
"Fine! Let's just get outta here already! I'm hungry," Gatomon snapped.  
Sora opened the door carefully and peeked inside. She swung the door open wide. The room was empty but there, at the opposite end of the room, was the staircase.  
"Yay!! Now we can go find Matt!" T.K. cheered.  
"And Tai!" Kari added.  
"And we can get some food!" shouted Gatomon.  
"Yay!" Patamon said loudly.  
"What are we standing around here for?! Let's go!" Biyomon cried, flying forward. Just as Biyomon reached the staircase though, it disappeared into thin air.  
The group cried out in alarm. Sora ran to the spot where the stairs had been--if they had even really been there--and looked around furiously. After looking and looking, she dropped to her knees in resignation.  
"We're never getting out of here," she moaned.  
"Don't worry, Sora. Matt and Tai and the others will find us. We'll find a way out of here, then go and defeat the Dark Masters," T.K. said confidently.  
Sora looked at T.K. He was so young, much younger than her, but yet he had more hope than she did. He was definitely worthy of the crest of hope.  
"T.K.'s right. We can't give up," Patamon chimed in.  
"We'll all get out of here," Kari added reassuringly.  
"And as long as we're together, we'll be perfectly safe," Gatomon finished.  
That's when the exit door swung shut.  
They all gasped in surprise. Abruptly, the walls began creaking and groaning. Sora noticed that the grain of the wooden walls was becoming...more obvious.  
"Umm, is it just me, or is it getting smaller in here?" Biyomon asked nervously.  
"The room is shrinking!!!" Sora shouted in fear.  
Everyone started trying to brace the walls, but the walls kept coming, slowly, slowly. They pushed on the walls, attempting to stop their advance. The walls just seemed to get faster, the room becoming more and more confined every second.  
Sora had never been known to be claustrophobic before, but now she was finding it very hard to breathe. There was no furniture they could use to help them; the room was totally empty. Devoid of anything.  
Except for them.  
"Help us! Matt, where are you?!" T.K. yelled.  
"Can anyone hear us?! Tai! Matt! Help!!" Kari shouted.  
The room was so small now, Sora's feet could touch the oncoming wall behind her. She was sweating heavily under her hat. She blew sweat off her nose and kept pushing with Biyomon and Patamon. Kari, T.K., and Gatomon pushed the opposite wall, fighting for all they were worth.  
Sora could sense, almost feel, the wall nearly at her back. "Somebody help us! Please!! Tai!!" Sora screamed. It was no use; no one could hear them. Sora closed her eyes tightly, hoping that she wouldn't start crying. They were going to be crushed. And she would never be able to tell Tai how she felt about him.  
All of a sudden, Sora's crest began glowing. She looked down at it. Then something made her look around her. She was still pushing the wall, but the room was now back to its regular size. All of them gawked at the chamber in amazed, bewildered silence. Then all except Sora started cheering.  
"Yes! We're alive!! Yaaaay!!" T.K. cried, overjoyed.  
Kari and Gatomon laughed happily, hugging each other.  
Biyomon and Patamon slapped each other a high-five, laughing ecstatically.  
"What's wrong, Sora?" Kari asked. "We're not smushed, so why are you still upset?"  
"That was too easy. Why didn't we get crushed?"  
"Don't look a gift-Unimon in the mouth, Sora," Biyomon laughed. "We're not dead, and that's good enough for me!"  
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Sora mumbled.  
And because she said that, the floor suddenly vanished. Sora, Kari, T.K., and Gatomon screamed as they fell downward. Patamon and Biyomon grabbed onto their human partners, trying to save them. But something prevented them from flying and instead they fell with them into the inky blackness.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Is your arm okay?" Matt asked in a concerned tone.  
"Yeah, it's fine. It's going to be bruised tomorrow, but I rather be bruised than pulled into a wall," Steff replied, smiling darkly.  
"I can't disagree with you there."  
"Gabumon, Cheetahmon, you two found anything yet?"  
"Not yet, Steff," Gabumon answered.  
Matt frowned, hands in his jeans pockets. Steff could tell that he was still upset about T.K. Then again, if her little brother was trapped in some freaky house, she'd be concerned for his safety too. She bit her lip, trying to think of something to distract him. Her mind fell on his harmonica. She had heard him playing it a couple of nights ago.   
*Flashback*  
She was having trouble falling asleep as usual; she was a night-owl: someone who preferred staying awake at night. Lying wide awake, she heard someone get up and leave. She glanced at everyone. They were all asleep. Except there was one person missing. Matt. Curious, she followed him to a nearby lake. Sitting down at the water's edge, Matt pulled out a thin piece of metal. Steff wondered what it was, but when he put it to his mouth and started playing, she knew it was a harmonica. He played a soulful blues song. She could tell that Matt put his heart and soul into that music. It sounded so sad. It affected her so deeply, she had to resist the urge to go over and hug him, make him feel better. She sighed and walked back to camp. Settling back down, she heard Matt finish his song and begin playing a song that sounded almost like a lullaby. Soothed by the tune, she quickly fell asleep.  
*End flashback*  
"Where'd you get your harmonica from?" Steff asked.  
Matt looked at her in surprise. "How--?"  
"I heard you play a little while back. So...?" she prompted.  
Matt reached back into a pocket and pulled out his harmonica. Looking at the little instrument proudly, he quietly said," I bought it from a pawn shop for...like, ten bucks back when I was five. I saw this old guy playing one in the park close to my house; it sounded so great, I had to get one for myself. I may have bought this for ten dollars, but to me, it's priceless."  
"I've got a harmonica myself, back at home."  
"Really?!"  
"Yeah! Although I can't play it nearly as well as you can. I love that thing; I just don't bring it everywhere with me."  
Matt seemed a bit uncomfortable when she said that, and blushed subtly. "I really like my harmonica," he muttered.  
Steff laughed. "I didn't mean that in a bad way! I like the fact that you're so attached to it. I think it's cute."  
"You think so, huh? Do you think I'm cute?"  
Steff was taken aback at the impromptu question. She stared at Matt hard. Matt with his thick, wild blonde hair and deep azure eyes. His quirky half-grin that made her heart race. She just wanted to say, "Yes, I think you're the hunkiest guy on both worlds!!!" but knew that that would be a tad impetuous. Instead, she came up with a better, more casual (and coy) reply.  
"Yeah, but I think that most guys are cute too."  
"Oh. Do you think Tai's cute?!"  
"Maybe."  
"What does that mean??"  
"Maybe as in possibly, perhaps, conceivably, feasibly--," Steff said, smiling as she counted off on her fingers.  
"That's not what I meant and you know it! Do you, or do you not, think Tai is cute??"  
Steff rolled her eyes and smiled wryly. "If you must absolutely know, I think he's not my type, and I wouldn't date him even if he was the last man on earth."  
"That's good--uh, I mean--so, if Tai's not your type, then what is your type?"  
"My, you like to ask a lot of questions, don't you? Well, he'd have to be cute, that's just a rule. And he'd have to be sweet and caring, especially when it came to younger siblings. And he'd have to play an instrument. And....he'd be blonde, blue-eyed, with the soul of a rebel and a heart of gold."  
Matt gaped at her, mouth slightly open, then he smiled that totally hot smile of his. "Wow, that's pretty specific. I wonder who you could find that'd be like that?" he said in mock-bewilderment, bringing a hand up to his chin as if in thought. "Hey, I know! What about me?"  
"You, Matt?? Why, I never would've guessed. You're entirely not my type!" Steff replied slyly. "But you know, I'll give you a try. I'm always up for new experiences."  
Matt stopped walking and Steff stopped with him. "How about this?" he asked. Matt gently placed a hand on her face, leaned forward, and kissed her on the lips. They stayed like that for a blissful moment, then Matt pulled away, his hand still on Steff's face. She and Matt were completely unaware of Cheetahmon and Gabumon's stares from ahead of them.  
Steff swallowed, cheeks burning bright red. "That was good," she said breathlessly. "Did I mention that my type of guy was a very good kisser?"  
"No, I think you neglected to mention that," Matt whispered, beaming.  
  
Chapter 6  
With no trouble at all, Tai and the others ran into the kitchen. Tai immediately noticed that the broken glass of blood still lay on the floor, splattered everywhere. He also noted the door right beside the fridge.  
"C'mon! That's our ticket outta here!" Tai cried, running to the door and throwing it open. Unfortunately, it wasn't a door to another hall. Instead, it was a staircase that led downward; it was black as night about half-way down. Apparently a way down to the basement.  
"Well, let's go!" Tai shouted.  
"Nu-uh!! I'd rather stay here than go down there!" Joe argued.  
"It's dark and dirty and there's probably bugs and other creepy stuff down there and I refuse to go down!!" Mimi shrieked in one breath.  
A ghostly whispering started up behind them. All turned and looked for the source. The fog--or mist or whatever it was--was pouring into the room from the hall. The fog swirled into the air, and a spectral face appeared inside it. It gloated at them, mouth opened in a silent laugh.  
"Okay, time to go," Joe said hurriedly, practically jumping into the stairwell.  
"What's a little dirt anyway?" Mimi asked quickly as she too ducked into the stairs. Palmon and Gomamon ran after their humans.  
"Let's buy them some time, Augumon! Time to digivolve!"  
"You got it, Tai!"  
Augumon digivolve to....Greymon!  
"Nova Blast!!" Greymon yelled, throwing a massive fireball at the mist. The attack went straight through it, impacting the wall behind it, incredibly not catching it on fire. The mist kept right on coming, the otherworldly face laughing still.  
"It's no use, Tai! I can't hurt it!" Greymon growled.  
"Then RUN!!" Tai yelled as Greymon de-digivolved back to Augumon. He and Augumon ran into the stairs and slammed the door after them, plunging them into total darkness. Tai and Augumon navigated the stairs as fast and as carefully as they could. Finally, they reached the floor. The basement was lit by a couple of hanging lamps suspended from the ceiling. Miscellaneous pieces of furniture and junk were scattered everywhere. Tai looked around excitedly for the others.  
There was no one else in the room.  
"Joe? Mimi? Gomamon? Palmon? Hey, guys, where'd you go?!" Tai asked tensely.  
"They're not here, Tai!" Augumon said, voice wavering. "They've disappeared!"  
"No..."  
Tai's heart skipped a beat as he heard the door leading to the basement open. He couldn't hear anything on the stairs. But then again, he wouldn't, would he? He looked around frantically. There were no windows. The only door was the one that led to the kitchen.  
"A--Augumon?" Tai whispered shakily.  
"Quick, over here!" Augumon hissed, opening a door of an old wardrobe and ducking inside. Tai quickly followed his friend and shut the door. Blackness consumed them. Tai felt like there was a giant beacon on the wardrobe that said, "Victims hiding here!" He thought for sure that the ghost--or whatever it was--could hear him breathing; his breathing thundered in his own ears. He tried to hold his breath. It was boiling hot in the wardrobe. His shirt was sticking to him from sweat.  
Tai's breath caught in his throat as he heard something large fall over. Or get knocked over. Oh, man! That thing was looking for him!! He edged deeper into the wardrobe, wanting to pant from the heat and hold his breath at the same time.  
Something else fell to the floor with a bang. Tai jumped involuntarily. The noise had been closer. He was tempted to open the door to see if maybe it was one of the others looking for him, but then nixed that idea. If it was one of the others, they would be calling for him, not tearing the room apart looking for him.  
Tai scooted farther into the wardrobe as once again something clattered to the ground. He was almost to the back of his hiding place. He prayed silently that the thing wouldn't look in there, just pass it by. Then again, this was probably the most obvious spot in the entire room.  
The wardrobe doors flew open, revealing the ghastly specter. Tai and Augumon shouted and stumbled backward, feet flying out from under them. But the back of the wardrobe didn't catch them. Instead, they kept falling. Falling into nothingness.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Izzy and Tentomon sat propped up against a hard stone wall under a torch; the small circle of light was comforting, if only a little bit. Tentomon looked off to their left nervously. "Izzy?" he asked quietly.  
"Yes?"  
"Did you hear something?"  
Izzy strained his ears, listening intently. "No, I'm afraid I don't detect anything out of the ordinary." Just as he said that, he heard a shuffling noise to their left. Now it was Izzy's turn to look nervous. "I've decided to modify my response. Yes, I did hear something."  
"What was it??"  
"I believe that we're in the company of an organism of unknown species that inhabits the dark and is stalking us."  
"And that means??"  
"I don't have any idea."  
Izzy and Tentomon looked at each other and pressed up harder against the wall.  
"So, do you have any ideas about this place? You said that we've been here before," Tentomon said, sounding intrested. Of course, Izzy knew that his friend was trying to distract him. But he didn't mind sharing his opinion.  
"Well, I'm not sure how this house came to be here. Maybe we came to this sector but didn't get to this specific area--which may explain how we didn't know this building was here--but I find that exceedingly improbable. Such a large, noticable residence like this would not have been overlooked that easily. As for what we're witnessing, maybe there's some sort of mold in the house that's causing us to have hallucinations; but once again, I believe that's highly unlikely. The fact that we really are here--and the email I received--are tangible evidence that we are not having delusions. So that leaves us with one other theory."  
"Which is?"  
"That this house appeared here by itself and is a channel for supernatural activity. That would explain the strange occurences. Doors opening or shutting by themselves take place quite a lot in haunted locations--although I've never heard of ghosts being able to send emails before. Or causing floors to disappear. There are a lot of holes in my theory, but then, it is just a theory."  
Tentomon stared off into the dark for a moment, then said, "Yeah, I think that last one sounds about right."  
Izzy heard scraping noises to the left again. Eerie whispering floated on the still air. Okay, if he hadn't been sure that was something in there with them, he certainly was now! He jumped to his feet and looked about him. There was nothing that he could use as a weapon. Then an idea hit him.  
Izzy grabbed up the torch from above his head and brandished it like a sword, the noises getting louder every second. With Tentomon right beside him, he walked very carefully toward the direction of the noise. The sounds were getting very loud now. He ducked behind a pillar, holding the torch above his head, ready to club the thing with it. Just as the sounds reached slightly behind him, he spun out from behind the pillar.  
And shouted in alarm.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Sora and the others screamed as something jumped out from behind a pillar. The monster shouted too. Then she realized it was Izzy and Tentomon.  
"Izzy, Tentomon, it's us!!" Sora cried.  
Izzy's face went from angry, to confused, then relieved. "Sora! It's you! You guys frightened me; I thought you were a monster or ghost or something!!"  
"Likewise! How did you get here? Where are the others? Where are we?!"  
"It appears we're in some dungeon. Tentomon and I fell through the floor--well, at least I did anyway. I don't know where anyone else is. I was awaiting a rescue, but I don't think that'll be happening."  
"You fell through the floor too?! Did anything weird happen to you? We went upstairs, you know, to look around some. We went into this one room, then when we came out, the hallway was different!"  
"Then we were attacked by some bedposts that were really wooden dragons--!" Kari cried.  
"--And we had to digivolve to beat them--!" Patamon continued.  
"--Then we got trapped in this empty room--!" Gatomon shouted.  
"--And then the room started shrinking, but then Sora's crest started glowing--," T.K. said hurriedly.  
"--And the room went back to normal--" Biyomon added.  
"Then we fell through the floor," Sora finished.  
Izzy stayed silent for a couple of seconds, then murmured, "Hmmm, intresting. It seems my ghost theory is becoming more and more believable. I received a strange email from...someone; then I departed the room I was in, and all the doors in the hall I went into slammed shut! After that, Tentomon disappeared and I fell down here."  
"Can we see the email?" Sora asked quietly.  
"Sure, hold on a second. I saved it onto a floppy disk." Izzy turned his computer on and inserted a disk into it. After typing briefly, he pulled up the email.  
Sora got chills up and down her back while reading it. "How did this guy know how to email you?" she whispered.  
"I don't know, Sora," Izzy replied, voice low. "All I know is this person knows who we are. We need to get out of here."  
Suddenly, four screaming somethings dropped from the ceiling and landed in front of them in a pile of arms and legs. One's head popped up and screeched in a high female voice, "Joe, get off of me!!"  
"Mimi?!" Sora asked incredulously.  
"Sora oh Sora you wouldn't believe what happened to us we went to the kitchen and there was food in the fridge and Tai got some and bit into a corndog and it was full of maggots and it was so disgusting then he spat it out and all the food on his plate and in the fridge disappeared then I wanted to get a drink but when I was about to drink it I realized it was blood and I dropped the cup and then Joe wanted to leave so we started for this door but no matter how hard we tried we couldn't reach the door then the door opened and this freaky mist started coming after us and we ran back to the kitchen and went down into this gross dirty basement and Tai stayed behind to protect us and give us some time so Joe and Palmon and Gomamon and I all hid in this wardrobe thing and then I accidentally tripped and we all fell down here and I'm scared and I want to go home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Mimi shrieked in one long breath and burst out crying.  
Everyone sweatdropped after she was finally done. Joe had gotten off Mimi by this point and Gomamon and Palmon sat off to the side. Joe put his arm around Mimi and held her as she cried into his shoulder.  
"How did she manage to do that?! That is physically impossible!" Izzy exclaimed.  
"Apparently not," Sora replied weakly. "Wait a minute! You said Tai stayed behind?! Where is he?!?!"  
"I don't know. He and Augumon were giving us time to escape. I thought he was right behind us," Joe murmured, stroking Mimi's hair.  
Just then, a screaming Tai and Augumon dropped down beside Mimi and Joe. Rubbing his head, Tai sat up stiffly. "Ow! That hurt!"  
"Tai, you're okay!!!" Sora cried, throwing her arms around his neck.  
Tai sweatdropped. "Uh, nice to see you too, Sora."  
  
Chapter 7  
Cheetahmon and Gabumon walked in the front of their little procession, trying to act as if nothing had happened.  
But that was not the case for Matt and Steff.  
They were both trying their hardest to act normal around each other. It wasn't working. Steff kept looking at Matt from her peripheral vision, as well as glancing at him. Whenever he caught her eyeing him, she'd look away shyly. It was the same for Matt. Any time she caught him looking at her, he'd suddenly (and conveniently) find something else to stare at.  
Steff really wanted to talk about what....had happened, but what was she supposed to say? She couldn't think of anything that wouldn't be either rude, totally air-heady, or sickenly cute. So she said nothing, although she couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she walked with her thumbs through the beltloops of her jeans.  
After "the incident", the two had started off walking with about three feet of space between them. Abruptly, Steff realized that the distance had shrunk to about three inches. Had he been inching his way toward her? Or had she been moving closer to him and not even noticed?  
She felt a touch on her hand. Looking down at it, she saw Matt's hand lightly take hers and hold it gently. She gazed at Matt's face; he was smiling warmly at her. She grinned back and squeezed his hand.  
Suddenly, rotting hands started springing out of the walls and floor. One grabbed Steff by the arm and two by her leg. Matt was caught by two that snatched his leg. All four of Cheetahmon's legs were seized by four hands, and before she could do anything, was dragged down through the floor. Gabumon grappled against two that had hold of his legs, but they knocked him off his feet and towed him through the floor too. The only thing that was keeping Matt and Steff from getting pulled into the walls was the other one's hand that they were holding.  
"Matt!" Steff whimpered, gripping his hand tight.  
"I've got you, Steff!" Matt growled, holding onto her hand firmly.  
Without warning, two more hands jumped out of the wall behind Matt and grabbed him by his shirt. Matt and Steff tried to hold on, but it was useless. With the combined might of all the hands, they tore Matt and Steff apart. The last thing either of them heard before they disappeared into the walls was the other one calling their name.  
All of a sudden, Steff was in black nothingness. The hands vanished and she was falling. Falling through the dark, Steff screamed, hoping that all of this was some big nightmare. She was going to wake up any minute now, back outside in the Digital World with Matt and Cheetahmon and...  
She hit something hard. Very hard. She blacked out; she was barely conscious, if at all. For a minute she wondered if she was dead. Then she heard indistinguishable voices, shuffling all around her, someone prodding her, checking her pulse. Steff faintly heard someone say, "She alive...but just barely." She tried to say something, tried to open her eyes even, but for some reason she couldn't.  
Then she heard a voice she recognized. Cheetahmon.  
"Steff!!! Is she okay?! What happened?! Is she hurt?! Steff, wake up!! Steff, answer me!! Steff!!!!" Steff heard a choking sound and realized with horror that Cheetahmon was crying. She attempted to say something again to no avail. In her mind, she was telling her Digimon that everything was going to be okay, pleading with Cheetahmon to stop crying. She was fine, really. At least she thought she was.  
Then the worst thing of all happened.  
She heard Matt's strangled voice.  
"Steff?" he whispered. All the other voices had gone silent. "Steff? No, Steff, no, don't do this to me!! You're going to be okay, do you hear me?! Just wake up! Wake up!!!" Matt shouted, voice breaking in a sob. Everyone was quiet for a long moment. Then Matt whispered, "Steff, y--you can't leave me. You're the best person I've ever known. I--I love you, Stephanie Shibasuki."  
Those three little words did it. Steff's heart swelled almost to bursting. Renewed strength flowed through her. He loved her! He loved her!!!!  
Steff opened her eyes. Matt was kneeling by her side, head bowed, but she could see that he was crying silently. She whispered, "I love you too, Yamato Ishida."  
Matt looked up, shock and then ecstasy written on his tear-stained face. Everyone cheered and whooped happily. Everyone except Izzy, who thought aloud, "Steff must have struck her head hard enought to get a slight concussion. The shock of the impact and the concussion must have caused a state of temporary paralysis. Intresting."  
Matt continued to cry, but this time it was from happiness. "You don't have to cry anymore, Matt. I'm okay," Steff reassured him.  
Matt laughed, wiping his face. "I...thought I had lost you there."  
Steff pushed herself into a sitting position with a groan. Smiling, she replied, "You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm still here."  
"Yes, you are," Matt whispered, smiling back. They leaned toward each other and met in a kiss.  
An evil voice laughed and rumbled sarcastically, "This is so sweet! Too bad you won't be able to do that for long."  
Matt and Steff pulled apart, looking around in alarm. Everyone was looking around the dungeon, the Digimon growling. Suddenly, the dungeon lit up like a candle, so bright that the Digidestined and their Digimon were temporarily blinded. Once they had regained their sight, they all saw a giant armored animal that resembled a brachiosaurus in the center of the prison. It was black and the armor that ran down its back; long, serpentine tail; and the fronts of its four, pillar-like legs was silver. Three thick, white claws on each foot made the creature appear quite threatening. The featureless, silver helmet it wore on its wedged head came to a beak-like point over its exposed lower jaw. Its huge, black wings--which looked like a cross between an eagle and a bat--seemed almost metallic in the way they moved. It gazed at them all with cunning red eyes.  
Grating its fangs, it growled, "Welcome, Digidestined. We meet at last."  
"Who are you?" Tai snarled.  
"I am NegaBehemon. I own this house. And all its inhabitants."  
"You don't own us!" Matt cried defiantly as he and Steff got to their feet.  
"No, I don't mean you. I mean the others: the others who have died here."  
"You mean the ghosts?" T.K. asked nervously.  
"Yes, the 'ghosts' as you want to call them. I control them. They all were lured here for their various reasons. Escape is impossible, so they died here. No, you all aren't mine yet. But soon, very soon, you will be mine as well. Many have come here and died before you...you will not be any different than them."  
"That's what you think, Dinoboy!" Tai shouted. "Augumon, let's do it!"  
Augumon warp-digivolve to....WarGreymon!!  
"Hey, Gabumon, let's not let Tai have all the fun! Digivolve!" Matt cried.  
Gabumon warp-digivolve to....MetalGarurumon!!  
Biyomon digivolve to..Birdramon...Birdramon digivolve to..Garudamon!!  
Tentomon digivolve to..Kabuterimon...Kabuterimon digivolve to..MegaKabuterimon!!  
Palmon digivolve to..Togemon...Togemon digivolve to..Lilymon!!  
Gomamon digivolve to..Ikkakumon...Ikkakumon digivolve to..Zudomon!!  
Patamon digivolve to..Angemon...Angemon digivolve to..MagnaAngemon!!  
Gatomon digivolve to....Angewomon!!  
Cheetahmon digivolve to....Dynamomon!!  
All the Digimon did their numerous attacks--WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon only succeeded in knocking him back some--but they did no damage at all to their foe. "Now it's my turn!!" NegaBehemon roared. "Nega Beam!!" A huge energy beam erupted from his mouth and ripped through all the Digidestined and Digimon, scattering them in all directions.  
Everyone was knocked out. Dynamomon was only hit with the shockwave of the attack. She was knocked away from the battle, but quickly rejoined. "Dynamo Sword!!" she yelled, striking at NegaBehemon with her katana, but the attack just glanced off.  
"Is that all you can do?! Please! I'm a mega, and you're a champion! What can you possibly do to me?!" NegaBehemon taunted, laughing. His laughing abruptly stopped. He stared at Dynamomon and muttered, possibly to himself, "No, it can't be you...it can't...it can't!!!"  
Steff gathered herself together and jumped to her feet. "Who can't she be?" Steff asked suspiciously.  
"Yeah, who can't I be?" Dynamomon piped up.  
"You...are me."  
"What?!?!" Steff and Dynamomon exclaimed in unison.  
"I am a created Digimon. I was created by someone to have power over spirits, over 'ghosts'. They used the DNA of another Digimon to create me. Yours. I am your Nega Clone, the complete and total opposite of you. You are light; I am darkness."  
"You were cloned from...me?" Dynamomon asked weakly.  
"Yes." There was intense sadness in the word, but also intense anger and jealousy. Steff felt pity toward NegaBehemon. He was just confused and angry. He was created for this; he didn't have a choice.  
Suddenly NegaBehemon snarled and said, "I can't stand this! There should only be one of us. Only one of us can live...and that one will be me!" He opened his mouth and shot a Nega Beam straight for Dynamomon.  
"NO!!!!" Steff screamed. All of a sudden, her digivice shot a bright stream of golden light and hit Dynamomon. Dynamomon digivolve to....Leviamon!!  
Just as that happened, the Nega Beam struck home.  
  
Chapter 8  
There was a blinding flash of light and the shockwave swept over Steff, fluttering her hair in its own wind. "Dynamomon!!!" she shrieked hoarsely. Smoke permeated the area that Dynamomon had been in. No reply. "No..." Steff whispered, tears filling her eyes. NegaBehemon chuckled maliciously. But both gasped as a bestial roar shook the dungeon. Stepping out of the smoke was a creature that was definitely not Dynamomon.  
From all appearances, it looked like a giant, fairy tale dragon on steroids. It was half the size of NegaBehemon but looked way meaner. Its scales were a dark silver, while its armored bat wings, chest, and knees were bright silver. A line of flint-colored spikes ran from the tip of its long tail to the back of its v-shaped head; its huge claws on its front legs and back feet were also that color. Bright yellow eyes looked from Steff to NegaBehemon and it growled low in its throat.  
"D--Dynamomon?" Steff asked faintly.  
"I'm not Dynamomon anymore," the creature growled in an amazingly still-feminine voice, "I'm Leviamon, Dynamomon's digivolution, Cheetahmon's ultimate form."  
"Oh, sweet!! Let's get him, Leviamon!"  
"Hell's Fire!!" Leviamon roared as scorching blue flame exploded from her mouth, engulfing NegaBehemon. Even though she was quite a distance from the fight, the fire was so hot Steff had to step back with an arm in front of her face. NegaBehemon stumbled back, fire still licking his hide; some of his black scales had lost their shine, burnt by the intense heat. He glared angrily at Leviamon. "You...hurt me!!" he shouted in disgust.  
"Oh, poor widdle baby got a boo-boo?" Leviamon teased.   
"You'll pay for this!!!"   
"Bring it on!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
All the humans had been awake for some time now, trying to rouse their Digimon. It was working; the Digimon were starting to stir. "What's happening, Tai?" WarGreymon asked as he stood up.  
"Beats me. Something about NegaBehemon being cloned from Steff's Digimon and now he wants to kill Dynamomon...or Leviamon or whoever that is."  
Beams and fire flew everywhere as the two Digmon fought, causing everyone to seek cover wherever they could. Matt ducked behind a pillar with MetalGarurumon, Lilymon, and Mimi. Matt clenched his teeth in frustration. He had to get out there.  
Steff was counting on him.  
"We should help them!" Lilymon cried.  
"I don't want to get in the middle of that!" Zudomon growled from behind the pillar opposite them, nodding toward the battle as a stray energy beam streaked past his face. "This is all-out mortal combat."  
The beam detonated and everyone squinted against the harsh light. After the attack's effects were gone, Matt made up his mind. "I don't care if it's a war zone!! I'm going out there!" Matt snarled, jumping onto MetalGarurumon's back and taking off. He yelled over his shoulder, "My girl's out there; I'm not leaving her alone!!"  
"Let's go, WarGreymon!" Tai shouted.  
"Yeah!!" The two charged into the battle.  
Soon the rest of the Digidestined and Digimon joined the fray.  
"Get him, MetalGarurumon!" Matt snarled.  
"Metal Wolf Claw!!" MetalGarurumon cried. A blue-white beam burst from his mouth and collided with NegaBehemon square in the chest. "Terra Force!!" WarGreymon shouted, throwing a huge red-orange energy ball into NegaBehemon's side. Both attacks actually seemed to affect the dinosaur-like Digimon this time; he flinched back, gritting his fangs.  
"Time to end this! Terror Wave!!" NegaBehemon roared. At first, nothing happened. Then suddenly, fog started spewing up from the floor. Ghostly images began appearing. Horrible, distorted faces with eyes hanging out of sockets, flesh dripping off their chins, or burned so badly you could barely tell it was human; rail-thin arms and bony, clawed hands reaching out to grab anything within grasp. Faces of Digimon mingled with the human faces; Matt could see a Penguinmon, a Hiandromon, an Icemon, a Lampmon, a Ninjamon, a Gotsumon, even two little Botamon, scores upon scores of souls of Digimon. Matt shrank back as a ghost of a Flarerizamon floated up to his right.  
"Attack!!!" NegaBehemon shrieked.  
The ghost Digimon shouted their various attacks. The Flarerizamon beside Matt shouted, "Blaze Buster!!" MetalGarurumon leaped out of the way of the fiery blast just in the nick of time; Nonetheless, Matt felt the scorching heat at his back. "Giga Missile!!" MetalGarurumon snarled. Hatches popped open all over his body, revealing hidden gun ports, and at least thirty missiles shot into the air, slamming into the Flarerizamon and numerous other ghost Digimon. "You got 'em, MetalGarurumon!" Matt whooped.  
But Matt's heart clenched as very-much-intact ghosts drifted out of the smoke.  
"What the--?!" Matt started to say, but the Flarerizamon interrupted with a, "Blaze Buster!!" "Look out, Matt!!!" MetalGarurumon shouted, bucking Matt off his back and throwing him to the side. Matt landed on the stone floor hard on his side, pain shooting through his elbow. Matt looked back at MetalGarurumon just as the Blaze Buster bashed into him.  
"MetalGarurumon!!!" Matt cried. His Digimon stumbled, the side struck by the attack blackened. Before MetalGarurumon could recover, a LadyDevimon and a Okuwamon blasted him with an Evil Wing and a Double Scissor Claw. Abruptly, a Rosemon screamed, "Rose Spear!!" A green spear covered in thorns shot from her hand, impacting MetalGarurumon in the burnt side. MetalGarurumon stood stiffly in place for a few seconds, teetered, then fell to the ground.  
"MetalGarurumon! No! No!!!" Matt shouted, running to his Digimon. Digimon shouting attack names and Digidestined yelling their Digimon's name and encouragement filled the air as Matt ran forward.   
Suddenly, WarGreymon hit the ground right in front of Matt, two feet in front of MetalGarurumon. Matt stared, horrified, at Tai's Digimon: his armor smashed, torn away completely in some areas, his orange skin turned an orangish-black, missing a wing. Tai was screaming WarGreymon's name over and over as he ran to his friend. Matt ran around WarGreymon's motionless form and dropped to a knee beside MetalGarurumon, scooping the Digimon's broad head into his lap.  
MetalGarurumon's side was so blackened, Matt couldn't tell how bad the damage really was. A shiny black liquid dribbled from uncountable cracks in his armor. His light brown eyes were looking straight at Matt, but they seemed to look through Matt, not really see him.  
"MetalGarurumon, c'mon, get up, buddy. We've got to help everyone!"  
"It's no use, Matt," MetalGarurumon whispered. "Everyone else is down; look for yourself." Matt looked around him. MagnaAngemon, MegaKabuterimon, Angewomon, and Leviamon were the only ones left standing, and they were getting pummled by barrages of attacks; they weren't going to be standing much longer.  
"The only way to finish this is to destroy NegaBehemon," MetalGarurumon continued. "We have to help Leviamon; she's the only one that has actually hurt him. She hurt him when WarGreymon and I couldn't. We have to give Leviamon enough power so she can defeat him. Use your crest, Matt. Use your crest, and I'll use my remaining power. Maybe if everyone gives their power to Leviamon, maybe she can defeat him."  
"But--But you'll die!!"  
"It won't kill me; I'll be barely alive. Besides, if Leviamon doesn't kill NegaBehemon, then we're all dead anyway. Please, Matt."  
Matt looked into his Digimon's eyes. He gently placed MetalGarurumon's head down on the ground and stood, resolute. Matt looked beside him. Tai was standing, pulling out his crest from under his shirt; he obviously had heard MetalGarurumon. Matt did the same, holding his crest out in front of him.  
His crest started pulsing a blue glow. The light got brighter and brighter, until Matt couldn't even look at it anymore. His blue glow was joined by Tai's crest glowing bright orange. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon both started glowing themselves. They both slowly, slowly, stood, their eyes glowing. Suddenly, shafts of light shot from the crests and both Digimon. The light flowed into Leviamon, making her start to glow blue and orange. Matt noticed that everyone, not just he and Tai, were doing the same thing: their crests and Digimon glowing different colors. All the crests and Digimon were shooting beams of light into Leviamon.  
The ghosts were fleeing, running away from the light caused by the crests and Digimon. "What do you think you're doing, you cowardly ghosts?!?!" NegaBehemon sputtered. "Come back!! Come back I say!!! I order you all to come back!!!!!" The evil Digimon turned his attention to Leviamon. She was glowing with all the colors of the rainbow.  
"What're you doing? You think your pathetic little crests will save you?? HA!! You can injure me, but you can't defeat me! I can't be defeated!!!!"  
Leviamon smiled. "Maybe Leviamon can't defeat you..."  
Leviamon digivolve to....  
  
Chapter 9  
....Behemon!!  
"...But I can!!" she rumbled in a voice that sounded almost exactly like Cheetahmon's. Steff gawked at Behemon. Behemon looked just like NegaBehemon, only her leathery skin was white, her eyes a dark blue, and her armor plating was a brilliant gold.  
"Guess we're on equal playing fields, huh, NegaBehemon?" Behemon growled.  
"This doesn't change a thing! I will destroy you, no matter what state you're in!!!"  
"I really don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to; to protect my friends."  
"Protecting friends?! You should be protecting me! I'm family! No, I'm more than family; I'm you!!"   
"You're not me," Behemon hissed, contempt filling her voice. "You said it yourself: you're my Nega clone. You're my opposite; you're everything I stand against."  
"Is that what you think? I'm not just your Nega clone. I'm the living embodiment of the evil that's inside you."  
"No. That's not true. I'd never be something like you; something that doesn't value life! A monster!"  
"Whether you like it or not, I am a part of you. The Nega cloning process requires something to clone; I'm your evil essence, only slightly amplified."  
"In that case, I'll be more than happy to destroy you."  
"If you destroy me, you destroy a part of yourself as well!!"  
"That's a sacrifice I'm just going to have to make."  
"If that's the way you're going to be, then so be it. Terror Wave!!" Slowly, almost hesitantly, ghosts drifted up from the floor.  
"Hope you like not having anyone to serve you. Neutralizing Fog!!" A golden mist surrounded Behemon like a spherical shield. Tendrils of the mist shot out, lashing through the ghosts. As soon as the mist touched a ghost, the specter vanished in a flash of gold. Within ten seconds, all the ghosts were gone.  
NegaBehemon stared in horror at Behemon's work, then turned burning red eyes on Behemon. "If you think you've prevented your demise, you are very wrong!! Power of Darkness!!" A pitch-black, fiery beam erupted from NegaBehemon's mouth.   
Behemon just smiled. "Power of Light!!" A beam just like NegaBehemon's burst from her mouth, except it was white. Both beams rocketed toward each other. Closer. Closer. Impact!!  
It looked and sounded like a nuclear bomb had just gone off. All Steff could see was white. A thunderous roar shook the whole house. The shockwave was so powerful it threw everyone--human and Digimon--backward six feet.  
Steff landed on her back. She quickly rolled onto her stomach and jumped to her feet, albeit shakily. "Behemon!!!" Steff screamed, or at least she thought she screamed it; she couldn't hear herself talk. The blast had almost completely deafened her. Steff squinted into the bright light and saw something she would never forget.  
Behemon and NegaBehemon were locked together in battle. Behemon's eyes glowed bright blue, NegaBehemon's dark red. They were still shooting their Power of Light and Power of Darkness attacks. Both beams blasted each other, merging, swirling together. Inch for inch, each Digimon fought for control. The scene was frightening.  
Behemon's attack looked like it was starting to overtake NegaBehemon's, but then the tables were turned and NegaBehemon looked like he was winning.  
"Behemon! You can do it!" Steff cried, ripping her tag and crest out from under her shirt and holding it out in front of her. "Do you hear me?! You can do it, Behemon!!!" Steff's crest began glowing with the others'.  
Behemon began glowing as well. She started walking forward, towards NegaBehemon, closing the space between their beams. NegaBehemon's glowing red eyes bugged out and he attempted to inch away from Behemon. Behemon just kept coming, step by step. NegaBehemon backed into a wall; there was no where else for him to go. The light coming from Behemon's mouth flared and her beam engulfed NegaBehemon's. There was a blazing flash of light; the room fell silent.  
Or at least Steff thought it had. She tried to listen past the fading--but still quite loud--ringing in her ears.  
The light faded. Behemon and NegaBehemon were both still standing. NegaBehemon wobbled slightly, but kept standing.  
"You did it. You actually did it," he whispered. His voice wasn't filled with anger, neither comtempt nor hatred. It was infinitely sad. Sad and shocked. "I didn't think you'd do it, Behemon," he murmured. "I--I'm sorry." Then NegaBehemon did something amazing.  
He smiled.  
His legs gave way beneath him and he toppled to the floor. As all the Digimon and Digidestined watched in somber sorrow, NegaBehemon disintegrated into data and disappeared.  
Behemon shook her head sadly, tears falling from her blue eyes. She turned to face her comrades, and Steff turned as well. Everyone was concerned with their Digimon. In a broken voice, a choked-up Tai was speaking softly to WarGreymon, who kept trying to move. Matt stroked MetalGarurumon's head, on the verge of tears; MetalGarurumon didn't move. T.K. was sniffling as he repeatedly asked MagnaAngemon to get up. Mimi was sobbing over the battered form of Lilymon. Even Izzy, who was sitting beside a mangled MegaKabuterimon, was biting his lip, dark eyes watering up. It was like this with every Digidestined.  
"This is awful, Behemon," Steff whispered. "What're we going to do?"  
"I'm going to right the wrongs that NegaBehemon caused."  
"But--?" Steff began.  
Behemon strode forward. Walking up to WarGreymon, she stopped and leaned her head down until she was only a few feet from him. "Healing Breath," she said quietly.  
Behemon opened her mouth. She breathed out a shimmering white cloud onto WarGreymon. The haze wrapped around WarGreymon, concealing him from view. The haze suddenly froze, hardening into something almost like a cocoon. Everyone gasped as the cocoon shattered and out stepped a fully healed WarGreymon.  
"W--WarGreymon?!" Tai cried.  
WarGreymon de-digivolved to Augumon. "Tai!!" he shouted happily. Human and Digimon ran to each other and hugged one another, laughing and crying at the same time.  
Behemon smiled, then walked over to Matt and MetalGarurumon.  
Soon everybody was laughing, each Digidestined reunited with their completely healed Digimon.  
Then Behemon began glowing. Her huge form shrank until a small creature about the size and shape of a basketball sat in her place. The creature was covered in golden fuzz with two button ears and large, almond-shaped green eyes. Three black stripes ran down her forehead, and her tiny muzzle had a few whiskers on it. Behemon had de-digivolved back to her In-Training form, Kittenmon.  
"Kittenmon...you saved us all," Steff said, picking up the little Digimon and hugging her.  
"Aw, shucks! It was nothing," Kittenmon replied in her small, mewing voice. "Anyway, I couldn't have digivolved to Behemon without everyone's help."  
"I don't know about anyone else, but I really want to get out of this crazy place!" Tai commented.  
"But there's no door!" Tentomon protested.  
Abruptly, a large, wooden door swung open to their right. Everyone stared at the door in stunned silence.  
"How...did that...get there?" Joe asked nervously.  
"I don't care how or why; let's just go!!" Mimi cried, she and Palmon racing for the door. Everyone else shrugged and made a mad dash for the door. No one really cared how the door happened to be there; they were all anxious to leave. They weren't going to look a gift-Unimon in the mouth.  
  
Chapter 10  
The Digidestined went through the door; inside was a tall staircase. They all hurried up it as fast as they could. The staircase led to a door in the basement wall (Tai, Mimi, Joe, and their Digimon insisted that the door had not been there when they had gone into the basement). From there it was a simple trip up the staircase, through the kitchen, down the hall, into the foyer, and then out the front door to freedom. The trek was made with no problems at all, to everyone's great surprise; no doors slammed shut, no eeire noises, no decaying hands, nothing. Nonetheless, all heaved a sigh of relief once they were on the other side of the picket fence.  
"I'm never, never, never going into another house in the Digital World again as long as I live!!" Mimi declared as they all began a slow march away from the mansion.  
"I'm all for that!" Sora added.  
"Hey, Steff?" Tai called from the front. He jogged back and walked beside her.  
Steff turned and looked at him. "Yeah? What is it, Tai?"  
Tai's eyes were downcast. "I was being a jerk earlier. Without you and Kittenmon, we would've been toast! I apologize. I'm really sorry. Can you forgive me?"  
Steff beamed. "Of course, Tai! That's what being friends is all about." Tai smiled back and ran back up next to Sora.  
Matt and Gabumon strode up beside Steff. "Hey."  
Steff smiled shyly. "Hey."  
Matt and Steff each reached out a hand and held the other's firmly.  
"So what do you think happened to all the ghosts?" Steff asked.  
"I suppose, since NegaBehemon's gone, they're all free now. He was the one keeping them there in the first place. I guess all the human souls passed on, or whatever it is that spirits do. The Digimon's souls more than likely disappeared to get reformatted again."  
"That's good. Hey, Matt?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Do you think that NegaBehemon will be reformatted too?"  
Matt sighed. "I don't know, Steff. He said he was a created Digimon; I don't know if created Digimon get reformatted like regular Digimon or not. I thought he was totally evil at first. But there at the end....he acted...good. I don't know how to explain it, but I don't think we've seen the last of him."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was night in the Digital World; it felt late. Probably twelve or one in the morning, real world time. Steff honestly didn't know; her watch hadn't worked since she'd arrived in the Digital World.  
She was having trouble falling asleep. Again. She tried to rest with her eyes closed. It didn't make her any sleepier. She sighed loudly, although no one could hear her; everyone was asleep. Kittenmon had digivolved to Cheetahmon earlier that day; she was now sleeping soundly at the bottom of Steff's sleeping bag.  
Steff heard a muffled shuffling noise off to her right, then the sound of rustling plants and underbrush. She rolled over and opened her eyes. She caught a glimpse of a green sleeveless shirt, dark blue jeans.  
Matt.  
Up and about again.  
And once again she followed him.  
Sitting down at the base of a huge, ancient tree, Matt pulled out his harmonica and began to play. Steff stopped a few feet away, listening to the slow, melodic song. She walked closer, into his sight range. Matt glanced up at her, making no move to stop playing or make her go away. Steff sat down beside him, laying her head on his shoulder. Matt kept playing; Steff snuggled into him, closing her eyes and smiling to herself. Before she knew it, she was starting to lightly doze.  
But then she heard something.  
A far-off cry.  
Steff shot her head up. "Did you hear that?"  
Matt stopped playing. "Hear what?"  
They both were quiet for a moment. Then Steff heard it again. A small, small voice, calling her name. "Steff!" the voice cried, almost a whisper.  
"Where's it coming from?" Steff asked Matt.  
"I...don't know."  
"Steff!"  
"C'mon! Let's see who that is!" Steff exclaimed, jumping to her feet.  
Matt and Steff jogged through the bushes, listening carefully. A few times they started going the wrong way, but the little voice always called again, straightening them out. Finally, they came to a tiny waterfall--only a trickle really--and there, sitting beside it, was a digi-egg. A small, white egg with silver swirls on it.  
"What's a digi-egg doing all the way out here?" Steff asked in a hushed voice.  
"Steff! I'm glad I finally found you!" the digi-egg said happily.  
Steff stared at the egg. "Do I...know you?" she asked it cautiously.  
"Well, you don't know me, but you did know my mega level. I'm NegaBehemon!"  
"You're...who?!"  
"I'm NegaBehemon!" the egg repeated. "When Behemon destroyed me, all the evil left me and I was able to be reformatted!! I'm good now, Steff; I really am!"  
Steff didn't know what to say. Did she believe him?  
Yes.  
Somewhere in the depths of her soul, she knew she did. She knew it was true. "You are? That's great!"  
"Yeah! I'm even a Digidestined's Digimon too!"  
"Really? Whose?"  
"Yours!!"  
  
THE END...OR IS IT?  
  
That's it: my first ever Digimon fanfiction!! How did you like it? You can send your comments to Cheetahmons_tamer@hotmail.com. Be it questions, praise, criticism, whatever! I'd love to know what you think of it! Who knows? If enough people like it, I may do a sequel! ^-^ Have a great day and God bless!! ^-^ Matt_and_Spike_forever  
  



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